There be this Wizard archetype that forms a special bond with their spellbook. It happens to stack with Pact Wizard, so I grabbed that, too. Poleiheira Adherent Pact Wizard Lich-book-thing...
Anyways, my plan is to have this Evil Wizard use their special bonded spellbook as their phylactery... Wizard essentially ceases to exist, and the book becomes intelligent. Call it an accident, a mishap of the ritual. Whatever.
On its own, the book will be able to cast its spells as SLA's. Probably give it the same spells per day as a Wizard of appropriate level. If used as someone's spellbook, it will be limited to a number of spells of certain levels determined by the intelligent item creation tables. I know I want to give the book flight, so it can float around, but I will roll on the table(s) to see what other sentient item abilities it gets. It will obviously be Evil... anyone of opposing alignment that touches the book is automatically hit with the Lich's Paralyzing Touch negative energy attack.
What level should such an item be? Minimum of 11, because Lich... but other than that, is there any specific level that would possibly be better than others?
Would a DemiLich be a better chassis? A floating book is probably closer to a floating skull Lich than a full-bodied Lich, for obvious reasons. There's just something about DemiLiches that I don't like, though. I would prefer to not, but if it is a superior fit, I will.
What opposition schools should I pick? Obviously, Necromancy will NOT be an opposition school...
Does this work as a concept? Any glaring holes that will keep this from working mechanically? I mean, other than the possibility of an Evil PC using an actual Lich as their spellbook? Maybe it should require Leadership?
A ghost haunting their spellbook might work similarly. I'd probably use that, or normal lich with modifications - demilich is a particularly nasty puzzle monster which has more of its AD&D 1e DNA than most creatures, I don't like the taste of it either.
Would there be any way to make it a usable item for an Evil PC?
I know there are magical spellbooks that give bonuses for different things, I imagine this wouldn't be too different. Even giving the Lich-book feats like Cooperative Crafting and/or Allied Spellcaster wouldn't be too much different than the bonuses magical items provide. I like the idea of it being held in hand and communicating telepathically, rather than it floating around doing its own thing.
So I would like it to be more of an item than a Familiar or Cohort. Don't get me wrong, I definitely want it to be worth the effort of finding, capturing (not killing), and owning your own personal Lich... I want it to be adequately powerful, indeed. Really use it to turn Necromancy and Divination magics up to 11.
Speaking of 11... which level should I make this Lich-book? Eleven is the minimum, but I don't want it to be "TOO" powerful or unobtainable.
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a week late, but a stream of consciousness for you: you could make it as powerful or as weak as you want, just due to whatever mishap caused his material form to be consumed in the ritual may have stunted his previous phenominal cosmic powers. so, he'd have lots of knowledge but no way to really use it--or seek it, since he's a book, and books dont have eyes to read with (blindsense would show pages as just a flat plane, no?).
or perhaps since it was a "bonded" spellbook, he cant use his full power unless he's likewise bonded to someone, so perhaps he's seeking a suitable host to either dominate (intelligent/cursed item has rules for that) or lure into servitude in exchange for his limited powers and expansive knowledge. likely in exchange for [something], such as helping him restore a physical body for himself, possibly involving some grand and needlessly specific ritual with hard-to-find reagents that you'll have to quest for . or in exchange for letting him read new spells or sources of knowledge via the bonded players' senses, because he's just that bored.
failure to do so in a timely enough manner will result in him either witholding his aid, or to attempting to dominate the PC, or to simply abandoning the players to 'flee' during an opportune moment
on the player side, you could sort of treat it like an advanced familiar of sorts (diminutive animated object statblock as a base? idk), with SLAs (maybe use the spell mastery feat as a basis for picking spells as SLAs for him based on his int stat when he was 'alive', perhaps capped by the 'bonded' players' maximum spell level. perhaps have him pick a spell per slot from the spells stored in the book itself? or both?) and a telepathic link to whoever he's working with. or instead of feats, something like the lore oracle power (iirc) to consult with him on a subject for X amount of time for a bonus on the next appropriate lore check you make.
maybe he grants feats like spell focus(necromancy) or skill focus (spellcraft?) or other thematically appropriate bonsues to whoever he's bonded with, like a regular familiar granting alertness etc.
alternatively, you could treat it like a black blade magus class feature that allows it to start weak and scale up in power as it stays bonded and regains his old strength (and perhaps tries to act towards his own interests more often)?
rather than flight, maybe he just has an 'unseen servant' carry him around? perhaps being a sort-of-weak (if rather hard to destroy) book is kind of a huge indignity.
Oh, I hadn't thought about scaling it like the Arcanist/Fighter/Magus bound blade. I like that, a lot.
I will have to come back to this after work...
Looking at the Arcanist/Fighter/Magus sentient sword progression... intelligent item creation rules... the Lich in the bestiary... the atrophied Lich from Kingmaker... specific spellbooks... I think I have an idea of how to approach this.
As an intelligent item, I will follow that layout, rather than the stat block associated with an opponent.
I am going to take the better of whatever the Arcanist/Magus progression, and the Fighter progression is at each opportunity. Fill in the "dead" abilities that depend on being a weapon or specific class features like Arcane Pools with stuff from the intelligent item creation tables. Right meow, I have the spell lists from the bestiary Lich, the atrophied Lich from Kingmaker, and the "Grandfather's Legacy" spellbook... I will combine them as I see fit, probably going with Enchantment and Illusion for Opposition School(s). Two of the three spell lists I have already share those, specifically.
I'm still not even done with the initial 1-11 Wizard base build for the Lich, because I wasn't sure which direction I was going to go with this. Once I flesh out the base Lich, I will see where that lands (plus or minus) within the intelligent item stat progression... the book will not progress with the wielder until the wielder is above a certain level... should the book be acquired before level ~11.
At 9th level, the Steelbound Fighter's intelligent weapon gets the ability to cast a 3rd-level spell 1/day as an SLA... 3/day at 17, and a second 3rd-level spell 1/day. I think I am going to steal/use this progression (or something very similar)... I'm just not sure if I am going to set the spell(s) or let the book (or its wielder) choose.
The real power of the book comes from the what it gifts to its partner...
"The black book always opens to the right page, and its wielder can record any number of spells and other information within the black book—when the wielder turns pages, more blank pages appear. Other mages find it difficult to read the black book, which displays information in a seemingly random order: the DC of all Spellcraft checks to copy or prepare spells from the black book increases by 10.
The cost and time requirement for writing a new spell into the black book are halved. The time to prepare spells from within the black book is significantly reduced, allowing its wielder to prepare all of their spells in only 15 minutes, and their minimum preparation time is only 1 minute. Once per day while holding the book in one hand, the wielder can use it to cast any one spell written in the black book, even if the spell is not prepared. This spell must be of a level the wielder can cast."
Or something like that...
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just remember that the book is a person--wants, needs, ambitions and everything. while they might deign to be lugged around as a piece of equipment for a time, they were once someone whom the very heavens shuddered at his name! and they will see their return.
Just spitballing some randoms here...
It looks like an 16 Intelligence is, like, the absolute lowest I go... 11th is lowest level you can get into Lich, and 11th level Wizards have access to 6th-level spells... assuming a minimum of 16 Intelligence. That's fine, though, I suppose. The other mental stats can progress on the Steelbound Fighter progression... 10 base, 12 @ 9, 14 @ 13, and 16 @ 17. Intelligence will remain at 16 until its wielder is level 15, where the book's Intelligence will raise to 17... following the better Arcanist/Magus intelligent weapon's Intelligence progression... 18 @ 17, and 19 @ 19.
Looks like once the wielder of this book reaches level 15... Caster Level? HD?... and the book's Intelligence raises to 17, it [the book] could have access to 7th-level spells... which is cool, because Grandfather's Legacy has 7th-level spells in it. Not sure how I am going to use that, exactly, but it is a relatively significant milestone for what I am using to build this stupid book. This is where the book has actually progressed past where it has ever been in life, as a Lich, or as a Lich-book-thing.
I am also going to impart upon its wielder the Pact Wizard's Great Power, Greater Expense roll twice ability... and that also increases at level 15:
"The wielder of the black book can invoke its power to roll twice and take the better result when attempting any caster level check, concentration check, initiative check, or saving throw. They can activate this ability as a free action before attempting the check, even if it isn’t their turn. The wielder can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + 1/2 their Intelligence modifier. At 15th level, when the wielder of the black book invokes its power to roll twice on a check, they adds their Intelligence bonus to the result as an insight bonus. When the wielder of the black book applies metamagic feats to any of the spells originally written in it, they treat that spell’s final effective level as 1 lower (to a minimum level equal to the spell’s original level)."
Or something like that...
What do think?
I would consider psychic vampire actually vs. Lich.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/vampire-psychi c-template/
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I had considered the DemiLich... its Devour Souls thing was something I was going to use to "eat" the wielder's Familiar... like the Soul Drinker's Familiar will literally eat your previous Familiar. Thus, pretty much forcing you to choose the book as your Arcane Bond.
I was also looking at the Psychic Lich template, and the Psychic Magic universal monter rules... possibly giving it near-full access to the casting it had in "life".
But, the Vampire has no reason or chance to accidentally turn themself into a book. A Lich must place their soul into an item... a process that is in no way guaranteed to end as one originally may have hoped or expected.
It will be easy enough to add some flavor as to why the Wizard chose their book as the item to put their soul into. Why the Wizard was interested in being a Lich (I mean, duh, who isn't?) in the first place. Maybe they watched their mother, an Alchemist, toil her whole life to learn the secrets of the Philosophors Stone... just to be bitter that she should have become immortal FIRST... it's too late for her now, but she could have had them both. She had a 50% to choose correctly, and chose 100% wrong.
And this lesson from his mother made him obsessed with immortality, but his stupid cat, Azrael, knocked over the whatchamacallit right when the thingymajig was supposed to boodazzle the glibberzoo... and now you have a Lich-book-thing... thanks a lot, Azrael.
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if it's accidental, they didnt choose to do so :^)
{. . .}
And this lesson from his mother made him obsessed with immortality, but his stupid cat, Azrael, knocked over the whatchamacallit right when the thingymajig was supposed to boodazzle the glibberzoo... and now you have a Lich-book-thing... thanks a lot, Azrael.
That is just an awesome backstory, including the McGuffins.